Variable stroke cushioned valve



July 2l A1953 D.""'w. HOPKINS 2,646,074

' v`VARIABLE STROKE CUSHIONED VALVE Filed July 28, 194e 3 Sheets-Sheet l DAV/D W HOPKINS.

Gttorneg July 21, 1953 D. w. HOPKINS` 2,646,074

VARIABLE STROKE CUSHIONED VALVE l Fied- July 28, 194e salama-sheet 2 nnentor DAV/Q vv. HoPK/NS.

Gttorneg July 21, 1953 D. w. HoPKiNs l 2,646,074

VARIABLE STROKE CUSHIONED VALVE Patented July 2l, 1953 UNITED .STATES PATENT oFzFlcE David Walter Hopkins, Philadelphia, Pa., aas- :signor .to R-,S Broducts Corporation, :Philadelgphia, Ba., Y a corporation of .Pennsylvania Applicationlluly, 1948JSerial`iNo. '41;0-28

`This :invention relates to 'cushioned variable stroke valves.

Tt .has been 4Ifound 'essential ffor ithe i'long life of va1-ves,in those cases where'the valveactuation is 'as a resulto'f't'he stroke of fapowerp'iston coupled .to the :movableportionpfthe'valve,-,and1par tioularly, although 'not restrictedly, 'to vanes yof butterfly Vvalves, that both/the closing :and the opening rstrokes must 'rbe retarded and cushioned just prior togattainmentlof the particular limit of such `as fair, :is compressed and slowly `:allowed to :bleed to permitfthe completion lof the stroke. This -is fquite satisfactory, *but it lis `restricted in operativeness, as far A'as the-cushioning of the stroke Tin both directionstis concerned at least, to the full stroke ofthe valve,`between fully open and fullyve'losed, or frequireschanges leverage in forderxto :modify lthe actual lvalve movement, Which isfa .complex matter `1 involving replacement ofzpar'ts. `As-there are many-situations in which a partial stroke onlyvis desired, "known existing equipment :as it A-is `provided fis :powerless `to Asecure such icuhioned Ypartial 'stroke.

,.Itiis-arnongithefobjects o'ffthis linventionftolprovide-ra lpowerfcylin'derfor operating valves y'having a'variable strokewhich'is cushioned atibojth fends thereof;V to "improve valve constructions; to improvevalve actuating-devices; to providefa valve actuating .devicehaving one fixed-cushioned limit toits stroke and'having the other limit a variable to limit fthe length fof fthe effective stroke with means forscushioning the'stroke `a't such 'variable' limit; to provide -a .variable stroke valve -operating :assembly with cushioning at each end f the stroke, y.in which the variation is a simple, easyrand` quick manual actuation; andto provide other objects and improvements `as vWill hereinafter appear.

lntheaccompanying drawings vforming part of this `description:v y t Fig. 1 represents a sideelevation, partiallyin fragmentary section, "through a lvalve-operating mechanism provided with 'a .stroke adjustment cushioning device,. showing the adjustment fof the latter to permit .theull powerrstrokerof'the actuating device;

'Fig .2 representsa fragmentary `side elevation, .partially :in fragmentary section, of :the .stroke adjustment :cushioning device in a position of vadjustment for securing Ya substantially half fstroke only fromffthe :power unit Vshown in Fig. 1;

'Filg-f3 -represents a -side elevation of :the device of Fig 1, with `the A.parts .in'the :position shown infFg. Fl';

4 `represents `a :fragmentary :side elevation, partially in vertical section, through amodied form-10i the invention, in Which'the adjustment is in the vpower cylinder. itself;

Figz represents a fragmentarytside elevation, partially in vertical section of the :power cylinder showing anfadjustment thereof to `establish .substantially Aone-half stroke from V.the .mechanism 'The valve body lsu isrprovided -with attaching iianges I I and Withsa-'Inovable element for closing and opening fthe evalve. Illustratively, butv preferably, lthe valve'in questionis'a butterfly valve controlled rbyra vane l2 .amounted on va'suitable shaft, passing outwardly throughfa stuffing .tbox or the like i3. Ajworm :gear Mis mounted for disconn'ectible engagement with the shaft of the vane L2, controlledrom the outer :end of the'assembly by .the axiallymova'ble push element l5 mounted on the push `rod .1;5. Thisportionof .the assembly is .of :no importance so ifar :as this invention 'is concerned, and the Iworm gear is 'keyed lto or released 'from the 'vane shaft -as the element I5 is pushed fin aor fout, in :any :desired mannner. A hand Wheel |11 ris providedon'afshaft l8`in driven relation'` to .a worm 'pinion Ygear 2U in constant mesh :with the worm rgear i4. This .is tofp'ermit hand voperation l"of the lvane Awhen desired or necessary.. vA v:lever 421 is 'mounted on the shaft of the vane lf2, fandrhaszapower operated arm 22 and Va v'damping pr urestraining varm 23, 1in substantial alignmentxacross "the axis'of the shaft of the vane. The'usually longer arm 2'2, at its free end carries fpivo'tally `'one 'end of an adjustable link .24, :and the -Jother .end :of the link lf24 is pivotedto theend 'of the vpower shaft or piston rod 2.5 :connected to the `piston 26 ofthe power cylinder '-27. The power cylinder 21 may be formedfas `desired so'longas it provides cushioning -'atpone" jend:of `the vstroke at least. In the position `dfthe-.parts shown'infu'll lines'in Fig. 1, the "piston 2,6 -israt'fthe upper end of its stroke. Suitable 'conrpressionirspace dening means are provided fto insurethatentrapped uid is compressedandfvented--atthe'top in -any desired manner :as fsh'o'wn, for iinstance, 1in section at V'the"'lo'ot tom of "the cylinder. The vupper and vlower closuresfof lthe rcylinder" are substantially identil. The compressed fluid passes through small! orifice 3G into the chamber 3| restrictedin its iiow by the adjustable needle valve 29, andpasses at a controlled rate into chamber 3|, from which by a vent aperture il it passes out of the charni ber 3l. This is facilitated by the axial sealing element of the valve in one direction. At the same time-the lever arm 23 is elevated moving i' about theaxis of the shaft on the vane or other projection 32 on the piston 26, which extendsinto and seals the axially extending orifice 33 forming a communication between the annular chamber Sl and the cylinder bore. At this time the ball check valve 3d is closed by its spring 35 and the cushioning is at a rate controlled by the needle valve. To apply working pressure to the piston, fluid under pressure is brought into the vent orice at such pressure as to unseat the ball'check valve, to free passage through port 35 against the end of the piston inthe cylinder. If any fluid under pressure passes through the needle valve aperture, it, too, passes into the cylinder against the piston. f

With the power piston so furnished,V it will be seen that the stroke of theshaft 'through a full stroke is cushioned at each end of the stroke, and 'that startingl with the valve full open (in full lines), for instance, it will be forced to full closed (inthe dottedline position indicated). In this stroke the stop element di] carried by the shaft ofV the vane of the valve will move from its abutment against the adjustable stop 4l carried by the valve housing or stuilng box, from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1, to the dotted line position, with the abutment lli! engaged against the adjustable limit stop 42, a duplicate in reverse of the stop 4l. Of course, for such` power actuation, the worm gear It will be released from its keyed connection to the shaft of the vane. The cushioning prevents the sharp impact of the mechanism at the end of the stroke and is quite desirable. As noted, if a full stroke alone isdesired, nothing more need be provided` than has Vjust been described. However, in order to provide a shorter stroke for any reason, and

, the reasons'are frequent, it will be seen that the cushioned power device illustrated is ineffective. It is, therefore, preferred'to provide a variable cushion device as shown, for instance, at the right hand side of Fig. l. In this illustrative disclosure, an internally threaded bushing 43 is provided upon a xed portion ed of the housing, upon which the power cylinder 2l' is mounted. A cushion cylinder l5 is externallyl threaded and screwed into the bushing d3, and carries a hand wheel 36, by which the l`vertical `axial position of the cylinder t5" can be varied by rotating the cylinder. The cylinder has an internal abutment 41 provided with an airinlet and exhaust opening 138, if desired, although the cylinder may-just be formed with an open end. The cylinder 45 has an-outer flange 49 for abutment and stop against the upper end of the bushing to mark the limit of downward adjustment of the cylinder, and is provided with the radial vent openings 5G in spaced relation to the end of the inserted plug 5I. .The plug has an axial bore 52, the flow through which is controlled by the needle valve moving device of the valve, forcing the piston "56 of thecushion' cylinder upwardly, more or less slightly compressing the air therein as it goes. Most of the air being compressed escapes through the side vents 5l] of the cylinder, but when the piston has passed by these the escape of air is precluded and it is then that actual working or cushioning compression of the air begins. The piston is sharply decelerated then in its movement as the air escapes aheadcf it through port 52 controlled in bleed rate by the needle valve 53, to nal escapethrough the exhaust port. As a generalfproposition, to-reduce the drag on the power element.V when the power cylinder with the cushioning-of the stroke at each end is being used for its full stroke, the auxiliary cushioning dewill have the needlevalve moved to its full opening to expedite escape of the; entrapped air.

When it is desired to provide a limited stroke to the valve movable element, say, for instance, ina purely illustrative form, a stroke between closed and one-halfopen, the valve is moved by hand or otherwise until it is in the half way position. 'hen the hand wheel 46 is turnedv and the cylinder d5' is screwed into the bushing to move the cylinder axially downwardly until the end of the piston 55 engages and abuts against the plug d l. Then the needle valve is partially closed to establish the desired slow bleed rate and the mechanismisstarted. The power cylinder being operated causes the piston to move partially downwardly on its stroke to move the valve movable element from its one limit toward the arbitrarily set limit, and the piston 56 moves part way on itscomplete stroke in the cylinder 45. The substantially' closed end of the cushioning cylinder has now been moved partially downwardly toward the piston 56 so that as the valve movable element moves toward the new limit, i. e. the illustrative half way position, the piston passes by the escape vents 5i) and starts to slow down as the entrapped air compresses ahead of itz As the latter slowly bleeds out, the piston 56 gently abuts and is positively stopped against the plug 5i and the valve movement stops at the desired point and with a cushioning cf the stop. On the return stroke the power moves the power piston 25 upwardly toward its cushioned stop at the same` time that the piston 55 is withdrawn from adjacency to the plug 5l, drawing in air partially through 'the bleed portsand then fully through the radialopenings 5G, to recharge the cushion cylinder with air, without eiecting any substantial drag on the power cylinder. Air entrapped between Ythe lower side of the piston 56 and the abutment 41 passes throughthevent 48.

Althoughl the preceding isgenerally a preferred embodiment, an alternative form of device maybe used as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. in this form of device the arm 23 of the lever on the valvemovable portion is omitted, together with al1 parts of the auxiliary cushioning' device, but

the remainder is like the power end of the device shown in Fig. 1, and bears identical reference characters. In this case, however, the power cylinder 99 has a lower cushioning end through which the shaft Si passes, although, as shown, this is providedwith a ixed rate, the variable bleed of the other gures may be used. The annular chamber 62 has a vent opening 9' and communicates with the interior of the cylinder through the annular passage E3. The piston 64 mounted on the shaft l has a lower tapered extension 55 surrounding the shaft in position to enter, seal, and then to compress fluid entrapped in the passage 93 and the annular chamber 92, as it is augmented by the compression of fluid between the lower face of the piston and the lower cylinder closure 59 containing the passages and 62. At the top, the cylinderis closed by the closure element 96 and has a port el leading to a combined vent and power supply, just as is provided for communication with the vent from the annular chamber 52. A hand wheel controlled threaded shaft 98 passes through the-closure element 99, and carries an internal swivel head lil. A movable cylinder' end wall device is provided hanging upon the swivel head "i9, and comprising the tubular externally threaded member ll having the fixed bleed radial vent 99, and engaged by the threaded cap l2 to hold it to the head lo. At the lower end the member 7l has an outwardly projecting ilange 73 carrying a packing element le held in place by the nut l5. The member "il at the lower end is internally formed with a cylindrical axial valve seat i9 and the end of the piston shaft or rod 6l extending beyond the piston 99 carries the sealing elongated plunger lli. The member li is large enough to receive the upwardly advancing end of the plunger element and to compress air therein and to bleed. same through opening 59 to retard the motion of the advancing piston. The powery cylinder is so arranged that with the movable cylinder end at its upper position, a full power stroke predeterminedly cushioned at both ends of the stroke is provided. When it is desired to move one of the limits so as to shorten the stroke and still to provide cushioning at both ends of the stroke, the shaft 58 is rotated, as by the hand lwheel i8, as shown-in Fig. 5, to move the cylinder end 'it and 'lll down along the inside of cylinder 69. The power stroke is then shortcned with cushioning at both ends. cushioning has been illustrated in these gures as a pre-set bleed rate with fixed ports, it will be understood, as noted, that if desired the bleed rate can be made adjustable as disclosed in Fig. 1.

The simplicity and eiciency of the invention will be obvious.

Matter disclosedbut not claimed herein is being claimed in application Serial No. 352,253, led April 30, 1953.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. Valve operating structure for variable stroke butterfly valves, comprising in combination with a housing, an element pivoted in the housing and movable between maximum limits, a power piston and cylinder having a maximum power stroke in both directions, linkage connecting the piston to the said element for moving the element through a maximum path between maximum limits, means for rst cushioning and then positively stopping both ends of the maximum power stroke to minimize shocks and impacts between the element and the housing, and means While the comprising an auxiliary cylinder and piston, said auxiliary piston connected to move synchronously with said linkage, said auxiliary cylinder mounted adjustably on said housing relative to said auxiliary piston, means or rst cushioning and then positively stopping said auxiliary piston at one end of its stroke in the auxiliary cylinder, and means for axially adjusting said auxiliary cylinder on said housing relative to the auxiliary piston for varying the length of the power strokes of said power piston while maintaining the cushioning at both ends of its said stroke for changing a limit of motion of said element.

2. Valve operating structure for variable stroke butterfly valves, comprising in combination with a housing, an element pivoted in the housing and movable between limits, a power piston and cylinder having a maximum power stroke in both directions, linkage connecting the piston to the said element for moving the element through a maximum motion between said limits, means for rst cushioning and then positively stopping both ends of the maximum power stroke to Yminimize shocks and impacts between the clement and the housing, means for varying the length of the power strokes of said piston while maintaining the cushioning at both ends of its said stroke comprising anindependent auxiliary cushioning device operable synchronously with said linkage, and means for adjusting the effective point of operation of said auxiliary device relative to the fixed` stroke of said power piston to first cushion and then positively stop said element at a iimit predeterminedly spaced from a limit determined by said maximum power stroke.

3. Tv'alve operating structure for variable stroke butterfly valves, comprising in combination with a housing, an element pivoted in Vthe housing and movable between limits, a power piston and cylinder having a maximum power stroke in both directions, linkage connecting the piston to the said element for moving the element through a maximum motion between said limits, means for iirst cushioning and then positively stopping yboth ends of the maximum power stroke to minimize shocks and impacts between the element and the housing, means for varying the length of the power strokes of said piston while maintaining the cushioning at both ends of its said stroke comprising a piston, a cylinder having a compression end and operatively associated with the cylinder to form a cushioning device, and means for axially moving the said cylinder with the cushioning end relative to the piston, and linkage connecting said last mentioned piston to the said element to predeterminedly shorten the effective stroke of the power piston while maintaining cushioning'of b-oth ends of the power piston stroke.

DAVID WALTER HOPKINS.

References cites in the fue Vof this patent `UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 444,528 Buckley Jan. 13, 1891 454,360 Keene June 16, 1891 531,792 Forslund Jan. 1, 1895 846,692 Parsons et al Mar. 12, 1907 1,126,384 Burnham Jan. 26, 1915 1,558,590 Carlson Oct. 27, 1925 1,998,373 Kingsbury Apr. 23, 1935 2,223,792 Muir Dec. 3, 1940 

